Stylographic pen with vent stem scraper



Dec. 8, 1970 E. BOK

STYLOGRAPHIC PEN WITH VENT STEM SCRAPER l Filed Feb.. 2'?, 1969 United States Patent O 3,545,878 STYLOGRAPHIC PEN WITH VENT STEM SCRAPER Edward Bok, 819 Tucker Road, North Dartmouth, Mass. 02747 Filed Feb. 27, 1969, Ser. No. 802,914 Int. Cl. B43k 1 06 U.S. Cl. 401-260 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Stylographic writing or drafting pen having a valve venting stern extending into a scraper mounted in the pen barrel to contact the venting stem and scrape off dried ink, as the reservoir is vented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention A principal shortcoming in contemporary stylographic writing pens is the dried ink clogging of the reservoir vent opening. Normally, the vent opening connects the inside of the ink reservoir with the outer atmosphere. Caking of dried ink in or adjacent the vent opening can totally obstruct the passage of air through the vent opening.

Description of the prior art ln the prior art devices there was no means for internally cleaning the venting passage of dried ink. As a result there was no way of eliminating the undesired reservoir vacuum induced by the flow of ink from the reservoir.

The most pertinent prior art is: Wallace, 2,214,494; Kovacs, 2,891,512.

Wallace (2,214,494) is typical of the weighted cleaning wire in the prior art, inducing reciprocatory action number 13a by a jerking movement.

Kovacs (2,891,512) induces reciprocatory movement of cleaning wire by pressure upon plunger 22. However, there is not simultaneously induced a venting action nor is there shown the capability of extending the cleaning wire beyond the tip of the tubular writing nozzle 26.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a drafting or scribing pen is comprised of a housing enclosing an ink reservoir having a pen tip with tubular point communicating with the ink reservoir via a capillary passage.

An integrated valve stem extends through an air vent in the reservoir. The valve stem contacts within the reservoir a pen tip cleaning wire, whereby the cleaning wire is reciprocably movable by means of this vent stem. By longitudinal actuation ofthe valve stem in either direction, the reservoir is vented while the cleaning wire reciprocates within the cleaning channel. A scraper is mounted in the pen barrel to scrape clogged ink from the vent stem which ink has been transferred from the vent opening by the vent stem during its longitudinal reciprocation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a stylographic writing pen according to the invention, showing the vent passage open for air venting;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the writing pen according to FIG. 1, showing the cleaning wire supported in the writing point while the vent stem is in open position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the writing pen according to FIGS. 1 and 2, showing the cleaning wire in its lowest position during venting;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the writing pen according to FIGS. l, 2, and 3. showing the vent stem in its top closed position, while the cleaning wire is retracted toward the reservoir;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the writing pen taken along the section line 5-5 of FIG. 1 and showing the scraper contacting the vent stem;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional laf the scraper taken along the section line 6 6 of FIG. 7 is a modification of the scraper according to FIG. 6 with an inclined scraper surface;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modified vent system in vent closed position; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the modified vent stem according to FIG. 8 in vent open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 drafting pen 10 comprises cap 20` secured to barrel 12 enclosing an ink reservoir, a writing nib 14 having a tubular pen tip 18. Cleaning wire 22 is attached to the wire extension 24, said extension having an annular shoulder 26 for guidance against the wall 28 of the barrel 12. Between shoulder 26 barrel bottom 30 the lower compression spring 32 is located, spring 32 providing an upward thrust on wire extension 24.

Cap 20 is threadedly connected to barrel 12 by means of screw threads 34. Interior screw thread 38 secures vent block 36 to cap 20. Vent block 36 is provided with Vent opening 40, and a plurality of conically disposed ink passages 42 to carry off ink from area 37 adjacent the vent opening 40. Vent stem I44, which mainly is located in the cap 20, protrudes through the vent opening 40 and into the ink reservoir 12 axially abutting top part 46 of the cleaning wire extension 24. The terminology axially abutting is used to designate the separate vent stem 44 and cleaning wire extension 24, illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the vent stern, cleaning wire extension and cleaning wire could be integrally connected.

Vent stem 44 is connected with knob 48 which protrudes through opening 50 in top 52 of cap 20'. In another non-illustrated embodiment of this knob construction the knob 48 may protrude through the side wall 54 ot' the cap 20. A top compression spring 56 is located in between shoulder 58 of knob 48 and cap top 52 and provides a downward thrust on vent stem 44. Together with lower compression spring 32 this spring 56 provides a balanced rest position for vent stem 44 and cleaning wire 22, as shown in FIG. 1. To elect venting, vent stem 44 has a partial longitudinal recess 60 having a flat side 62, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Scraper plate 64 is positioned above vent block 36 and is locked in between block 36 and cap 20 under low force and rests with its end 66 upon the vent stem 44. This arrangement permits clogged ink which has been collected in vent stem recess 60 to be scraped off during the upward movement of the vent stem from its lowest position, illustrated in FIG. 3.

During use of the pen by writing, ink is removed from the ink reservoir and venting is required to replace the removed ink with air. By manually pushing out stem 44 to its lowest position, as illustrated in FIG. 3, venting can take place. However, ink from the ink reservoir may collect and dry in the vent stem recess 60, especially if the ink is not removed from the area 37 adjacent to the vent opening 40. This undesirable eliect can occur when knob `48 is depressed directly after the pen is brought from a lay down position to its writing position. Then, recess 60 builds up a clogging layer of ink 61, as it dries and has to be removed to insure a proper venting.

As the vent stem 44 is reciprocated from its lower position (FIG. 3) to its top position as is shown in FIG. 4, dried ink 61 or ink that is still in a liquid state is being scraped olf from the vent recess 60 by means of the scraper plate 64 and small dried particles are collected and retained within cap 20.

To provide a good removal of ink from vent stem 44 the longitudinal recess 60 ends are sloped at 68 and 70 with a slight degree of inclination, permitting the scraper 60 to move from the recess 60 via such a slope to the normal diameter vent stem exterior.

In FIG. 6 the end 66 of scraper plate 64 has a perpendicular position against vent stem 44. However this position of scraper end 66 may be inclined as is shown in FIG. 7 to provide a better removal of the ink from the vent stem 44.

In FIG. 8 a modification of the pen according to FIG. l is shown, whereby the scraper plate 64 is positioned underneath vent block 36 and is locked in between vent block 36 and barrel housing 12.

In FIG. 8 the closed position for the vent opening 40 is shown. In FIG. 9 ink is shown being scraped off from the vent stem recess 60 as this stem is brought to this position with closed vent 40 from its top position to the closed position.

In FIG. 1 a pen buildup with two compression springs is shown. However, every pen construction is possible according to the invention, which makes use of a vent system with displaceable vent stem in combination with a scraper plate to remove ink from the vent stem.

I claim:

1. A stylographic pen of the type having a barrel, an ink reservoir within said barrel, and a tubular pen tip communicant with said ink reservoir via a capillary passage comprising:

(A) a cleaning wire reciprocably mounted in said reservoir, so as to be extensible through said tubular point;

(B) a venting stem reciprocably extending through a vent hole in said reservoir and axially abutting said 40 cleaning wire, so as to effect cleaning reciprocation of said wire within said tubular point, as said venting stern is reciprocated to vent said reservoir; and

(C) a scraper supported in said barrel in contact with said venting stem, so as to scrape oiI dried ink during reciprocation of said venting stern.

2. A pen as in claim 1, said scraper being mounted within said barrel on top of said reservoir and abutting with a reduced diameter portion of said vent stem, as said vent stem reciprocates into and out of the vent hole in said reservoir.

3. A pen as in claim 2, said scraper plate being springtensioned against said vent stem.

4. A pen as in claim 3, said vent stem reduced diameter portion being flattened axially and having top and bottom shoulders radially outwardly inclined.

5. A pen as in claim 4, said vent stem being reciprocable over a longitudinal distance equivalent to the length of said reduced diameter portion,

6. A pen as in claim 5, said cleaning wire being mounted in a base piece having an annular flange contacting the interior Walls of said reservoir as a lateral guide and an enlarged diameter top piston abutting said venting stem bottom.

7. A pen as in claim 5, said scraper contacting said vent stem at least one millimeter above said vent hole in said reservoir.

8. A pen as in claim 7, said reservoir being closed by a cap secured in said barrel and having an axial vent hole extending into a downwardly outwardly diverging conical recess beneath said vent hole.

'9. A pen as in claim 8, said scraper having an inclined scraping surface contacting said vent stem.

10. A pen as in claim 1, said scraper plate being supported in said barrel beneath said cap and contacting said vent stem within said conical recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1895 Morrow 401-121X 9/1925 Maxedon 401-121 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

